Developing Oral Presentation Skills

Pat Maier

Aims of the session

• Recognise good and poor talks• Identify and resolve your concerns• Techniques to avoid poor talks• Dealing with your nerves• Tips for group presentations

What makes a talk poor?

• Little/no eye contact– No engagement with the audience

• Mumbling– Often because not engaging with audience

• Reading from a paper– Too fast, monotone

• Little/no structure– Lack of clarity

• Too much information

• Bad visual aids

Dealing with nerves

• Be prepared– Plan and rehearse– See ‘dealing with nerves’ box

– See handy check list

• Deep breathing!– May sound naff, but it works

• Engage with your audience– Makes you feel more relaxed

– See ‘engage with your audience’ box

Presenting as part of a team

• Plan talk together• Set responsibilities• Structure talk

– Intro – sections - conclusion– Ensure everyone will speak

• Smooth links between speakers– Someone to introduce talk and

– Introduce next topic & speaker

– Someone to conclude

• Your talk must HANG TOGEGTHER

Academic Skills Guides

• Guides available are:• Learning styles• Reading academically• Writing effectively• Referencing your work• Getting the most from lectures• Working in groups• Giving a talk• Preparing effectively for examinations• Search strategy• Writing your dissertation• EndNote - software that helps you manage references• Approaching Mathematical Problems Systematically